[il-talk] Jacksonville Journal-Courier editorial

[Bill Reif]

This makes some good points.  Cathy: Is the same one you read?

Bill

EDITORIAL: Schools are more than Jacksonville institutions; they are part of 
community
Comments 1 | Recommend 2
Wholesale closing of beneficial programs is wrong approach for state to take
June 17, 2009 - 10:34 AM
JOURNAL-COURIER STAFF
Journal-Courier
The words were delivered from Springfield with painful but clinical 
precision: "Cut funding for state-provided services by $232 million."
In the middle of the four-item list from the governor's office was the 
proposed shuttering of the Illinois School for the Deaf and the Illinois 
School for the Visually Impaired.
It was - and still is - a take-your-breath-away moment, a time when saying 
"oh, no" and wrinkling the forehead in disbelief is an understatement.
Looking at the move from cold unemotional numbers, it seems just a pittance 
of the $9.2 billion hole into which the budget has sunk. Closing the 
Jacksonville institutions would save the state an estimated $18 million.
We cannot be unemotional. This is more than a line item in a financial 
ledger. These are people who desparately need specialized services offered 
at the schools to build their own self-sufficiency.
These are schools that are a part of Jacksonville's community fabric.
The loss of either would be devastating to the city, which has been the 
benefactor of the economic and cultural impact of the schools. Both 
facilities have been embraced with a warm acceptance and a willingness to 
integrate unique lifestyles.
Closing the schools would be painful to Illinois' deaf and visually impaired 
students and families.
The School for the Visually Impaired brings school-age people to its 18-acre 
campus for an education that goes beyond what could be offered in most 
environments. The school also offers outreach programs that start as early 
as infancy.
The same for the School for the Deaf, which has grown to a 50-acre campus 
since founded in 1839, offers similar programs for the deaf or hard of 
hearing.
Most important is the self-sufficiency these schools help bring to students. 
That can't be defined by a price tag.
Sure, we've heard the cry-wolf tactics before. In fact, it has grown tedious 
to hear the cacophonic tales of "we said/they said" and know it comes at the 
expense of real progress.
But this seems serious
What is at risk is clear: State agencies would suffer and, in turn, so would 
the people and families who rely on such services.
It's a double-edged sword. While we believe lawmakers need to make sure the 
state lives within its means like any individual or business would be 
expected to do, the depth of the cuts being discussed seems almost spiteful 
at this point.
Times are tough on the economic front. Less money is coming into the state 
and expenses are on the rise.
We know, we get it - our wallets have been hit hard, too.
In some cases, we've had to make adjustments to live within our means, and 
we recognize the state could do a better job of that.
But the wholesale slaughter of programs without careful evaluation or, even 
worse, just ignoring the problem until it "goes away," is a wrong-headed 
approach that demonstrates a lack of leadership needed more than ever in 
these turbulent times.